


To Master Oneself

by Kyoki777



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Time Travel, F/M, Yoga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 17:46:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16917429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyoki777/pseuds/Kyoki777
Summary: After the war against Grindlewald, Hermione finds herself having problems adjusting to life. Upon the advice of a professional she turns to yoga, in order to help herself cope with the changes in her life. She never expected to enjoy the class, but her yoga instructor turns out to be very persuasive





	To Master Oneself

**Author's Note:**

  * For [beestung2025](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beestung2025/gifts).



If there was one thing that Hermione believed in, it was self improvement. It was why she when the sorting hat sat on her head when she was twelve, she had asked it to not sort her into Ravenclaw. Sure, she would have belonged there, she was smart, but she had wanted to be more than that. She wanted to better herself, to become the best her she could be. The best part of it, was it had worked. She was able to become braver, to get out of her head, to act instead of constantly think. Sure, it wasn't always the smartest of moves, but she felt it made her a better person. She had continued with this thought process throughout her time at Hogwarts. Finding one challenge after another, all in the name of bettering herself. 

Sometimes, they were useful, like the year she had decided to go outside her comfort zone, to put herself out there and actually make friends that weren't Harry or Ron. It had been beneficial, enlightening, exciting. She had become fast friends with Viktor Krum, had developed a romance with him, and in turn gained self confidence in herself. Other times, they didn't work out the way she planned. Like the time in third year, when she had promised herself to stop caring about the bullying, to ignore Malfoy and the others with their bigotry. To be fair, she had tried, and she  _ had  _ been doing a damn good job. Of course, sometimes life got in the way, threw lemons at you, ground them into your eyes. It was only fair that you get back at it, by punching life in its bigoted nose. She wish she could say that she wasn't proud of the fact that she had broken Draco Malfoy’s perfect snobby nose, but that would be a lie. So would saying that she wasn't pleased every time he seemed to shy away from her after that. 

As she matured, those sort of feelings only seemed to intensify, the resentment at the people who treated her so terribly, all because of her heritage. Pure bloods, blood purity. She hated the lot of it. If there was anyone to blame, it was Grindelwald. Sure, blood purity had been around for centuries, but it was his fault that it had been taken to the extreme. He had pushed things to the extreme, had started a war to try to expose the wizarding world to muggles, to subjugate them. 

It was his fault that she had been ostracized throughout her Hogwarts career, that she had been terrified for her safety and the safety of her friends throughout the majority of her childhood. His fault that she had to erase her parents memories of her, all so she could fight in a stupid war so that she could live a normal life, one where she wasn't hated. 

At least that's what she told herself. The truth of the matter was that even after Grindelwald had been defeated, nothing had changed. People had lost  _ so much  _ because of the war, brothers, sisters, lovers, parents… and it was all for  _ nothing.  _

After everything people still hadn't learned. That fact infuriated Hermione more than anything. It kept her up at night. The fury at everything she and her friends had lost; their time, their family, their innocence, and still people refused to change. She hated it.

Unfortunately her anger was taking over her life, leading her down a dark path, one that she knew she wouldn't come back from if she travelled to far.

So, upon the advice of her therapist, she had enrolled in a yoga class. After all, yoga would help her better herself right? Emotionally, spiritually. That was what her therapist told her, told her it would balance her, bring her peace after all the trauma she had been through over the last few years. Personally, Hermione thought it was rubbish, unfortunately she didn't have much choice. As her therapist pointed out, she couldn't go around punching everyone when they made her angry. Life didn't work that way. 

So here she was, standing outside the yoga shop that her therapist had recommended. It would do good for her soul she said. Would relax her mind, body, spirit. Hermione was certain the woman had too much fire whiskey in her life and suffered from a permanent case of stupidity. 

The shop itself didn't seem special, it was a normal yoga studio, not even slightly magical. It was a muggle studio, why a witch therapist suggested a muggle store, she hadn't the foggiest, but she had promised to do this. Glancing down at her watch, Hermione realized she only had about 15 minutes before class started. There was no use standing out here. Straightening her shoulders she walked in the door. 

The studio was an open room, the walls lined with mirrors. It wasn't a big space, but had enough room to hold a few dozen people. Currently there were only about 5 women in the room,  placing down their mats. She could say she was grateful for that. She wasn't exactly sure how flexible she was going to be, and few people meant less embarrassment if she fell flat on her face. Thank merlin for small miracles.

With a sigh Hermione went to an unclaimed corner of the room, far enough away from the other women that she wouldn't have to partake in whatever idol chit chat they deemed was worthy of their time. In all likelihood, it was about some muggle celebrities and whether they considered them hot or not. Hermione could barely stand it when her dorm mates had talked about who was hot in when she was in school, now that she was nearly 20? No thank you, she had more important things to think about then the sex factor of a man or woman that she would never meet in her life. 

The other women seemed to noticed that she had distanced herself from them, though if they particularly cared, the honey eyed girl had no clue, and honestly could care less. She looked down at her watch, noticing she had a few minutes left before this god awful class began. She could at least take advantage of the down time and do something useful.

With this in mind the frizzy haired girl rummaged through her beaded bag, pulling out a book from the confines of the fabric. If the muggle women noticed that the book was much too big to fit in the small bag, they showed no indication. Hermione sat on her matt, crossing her legs and fell into the only world that brought her peace, the world of knowledge.

She had been drawn in so deeply to her book that she had barely noticed that the atmosphere of the room had suddenly shifted, soft whispers and giggles filled the air, actually causing the book worm to abandon her book. 

She understood why the room had suddenly seemed super charged with sexual tension, and she couldn't say she blamed any of these women for the change. The man that walked in was a few years older then she was, and Hermione could honestly say that he was the most handsome man she had ever seen. 

“Welcome ladies, I’m glad to see you all again, and it looks like we have a new face here as well” his voice was like honey, it drizzled over her senses, filling her with warmth. It was a new experience for her, to be so attracted to a man, she had never so much as spoken to. It was something she would have expected when she was in school, when her hormones were raging and emotions everywhere, not when she was 20. 

She was a war hardened soldier after all, not a school girl. 

“ Alright everyone, just like always, we will be starting in a crossed leg position” the man said, sitting down on the matt at the forefront of the room. Dark eyes looked upon the group of women, nodding in approval as they all did as he told. He gave them all a charming smile, one that seemed to melt the women around him. “ Good, this is what we call the ease position, the position of ease. Now I want you to take a deep breath and rotate your shoulders forward, then down and back” 

As the man walked them through the warm up exercises, Hermione took a few minutes to appreciate his appearance. He had dark brown hair that was neatly groomed, minus a rebellious curl of his bangs, his skin was pale and flawless. It was hard to look at him, truly, and truly a bit unfair that this man, this yoga instructor, could be one of the most beautiful people she had ever seen. He could be a muggle movie star with his looks, and she wondered why he wasn't. His voice was rich and deep soothing in a way she couldn't quite explain. It was no wonder that the women in this room, most of which were probably married and old enough to be his mouth, were drooling over him as he walked them through the stretches. 

She could see where they were coming from, especially as he transitioned the class from the stretches to the actual yoga poses, demonstrating them for them.

“Good Job everyone” He praised “ Now we are going to take your palms and dive forward on all fours.” He did exactly that, making sure to point out how his wrists were aligned with his shoulders as well as well as his knees being directly under his hip points. He went on with the position, each of them mimicking his movements as best as they could. 

Hermione could feel the way her muscles were reacting to the movements, strange how this seemed so much more difficult then he made it look. He kept up with the lesson, getting up occasionally and walking the room, correcting poses as needed. As he moved around the room, she couldn't help but think how graceful he was, his muscles taunt beneath his tight tank top. She couldn't help but picture how he would feel against her in several different positions, not unlike the doggy position she was currently in. 

She was so caught up with her wandering imagination that she hadn't noticed that the instructor, whose name she found out was Tom, thanks to a woman cooing his name earlier, had come up behind her. She stiffened when she felt long fingers on her spine, pressing down ward gently, causing her to slip. Thankfully he caught her before she fell on her face, hands steady on her hips as he pulled her ass back up into the air.

Hermione took a deep breath as he did, feeling his crotch against her bottom. Strange how she had just been imagining something like this not seconds before, and here it was happen. She shook that thought from her mind, not hearing the soft chuckle that Tom had emitted. He made sure her back was straight and hips high, not seeming to pay attention to the fact that he was pressed so intimately against her, before he moved on to the next woman, making sure their positions were correct.

By the end of the class, Hermione was tired, her muscles sore, and she could honestly say she could use a shower. A nice ice cold shower. 

She had thought at first that Tom was being a good instructor, guiding her muscles into the correct positions, making sure he didn't harm herself and succeeded in learning. It became quickly apparent he was having much too fun with it all. It had started with the doggy position, his crotch pressed into her ass a little longer than necessary. It didn't stop there though, instead he continued, his hands would linger on her hips, her spine, it had even felt as if he had rubbed her ass at one point, fingers lightly brushing her clothed crotch. She had known he was doing it on purpose then, for she had unwittingly leaned into the caress, eliciting a deep chuckle from him. She had blushed in embarrassment, but he moved on for a minute. 

Strangely enough, he had not done this to any of the other women. She had tried to convince herself that it didn't mean anything, just a man having fun with some women who were obviously very willing. So it had come as a surprise when she found out he was completely professional with the other women. The only one he lingered with was her, though for the life of her, she didn't understand _ why _ .

Hermione pushed those thoughts from her mind, convincing herself it didn't matter. She would leave this place, take one hell of a cold shower, and never see this man again. There was no use lingering on the why. It was pointless. She had done what she had promised, she had attended one class, and it didn't help her emotionally, if anything it had made her more frustrated than ever. 

As she gathered her things she heard him bid the other students good by, letting them out of the shop. She hadn't realized that they had left so quickly, having honestly thought they would linger, trying to seduce the young man. Alas, they did not, instead leaving quickly probably to go take hot showers and fantasize about what they wished had happened in that class. She rushed to the door, not wanting to be alone with him, honestly a bit embarrassed about the whole thing. If she was honest with herself, she had probably imagined he was being unprofessional, his fingers had probably slipped and she had reacted on instinct. That was the most embarrassing part. 

She headed to the door, head down and hair in her face, not wanting to meet the instructors eye, but her exit was blocked by his solid form. 

“Going so soon?” His words were soft and smooth, sitting heavy on her nerves.

“I'm sorry?” she asked, startled by his question. She looked up into his dark brown eyes, surprised by the mischievous glint she found looking back at her.   
  
“I’m merely surprised you are leaving so quickly. After all, you seemed so eager to learn today.” it was a soft purr as his body moved away from the door, towards her. 

Hermione took a step back, unsure what to do, was he seriously coming on to her “ I-I was” she stammered out “ but the class is over…” she stopped talking as she heard the distinct sound of the deadbolt locking on the door, and her eyes snapped towards the sound. The door was at least 3 feet away and was now locked. Her eyes drifted to his face, seeing them smirk transforming his features.

“Yes, but I think that you could definitely use more practice, don't you Hermione?” He chuckled at the look on her face as realization that she had never told him her name , as a matter of fact, she had given a fake one when she had signed up for this class.

“How-”

“Do I know your name?” he finished for her. He continued to move towards her, taking a step forward each time she took one back “ I’m surprised you don't remember me Hermione, a bit disappointed at that fact. After all, We spent five years in the same school together, and I never forgot about  _ you _ ”

She squeaked in surprised as her back hit the wall behind her. He had literally backed her into a corner, and he was keeping her from escaping, his long fingers star fished on either side of her head as he looked down at her. 

“You were always trying to beat my marks, even when you were two years behind me, you motivated me. Someone as smart as I was, a challenge in a world that was so  _ boring. _ ” he continued on though she had not answered.

“Tom-- Tom Riddle?” she asked surprise in her voice. She took a closer look at his face, trying to see the boy in the man before her. She had not recognized him, though she had only ever really seen glances of him. He had been two years above her and she had been so busy with school and trying to beat his marks that she had never really taken the time out to look. 

“Ah, so you do remember my name” 

“Yes... “ she was aware of how he moved closer still, his body centimeters away from hers. Her brain felt foggy, unsure exactly what was happening. What were the chances that her yoga instructor would be Tom bloody Riddle? What was he doing here of all places? Teaching yoga?

He chuckled softly, his neck bent as he leaned towards her ear “ Yoga helps me to be my best self. It grounds me so I can achieve my goals” he answered her unspoken question “ Do you have any clue how distracting you were in class” he growled into her ears “ I am used to those thoughts from women like them, but never had I expected them from you” 

“You are a legilimens” 

“Yes Hermione, and I saw every perverted thought that crossed your mind. You made it very difficult to concentrate today. I couldn't help but punish you for such a thing. You were so willing too, the way you practically begged to be touched.” his left hand made its way behind her head, long fingers tangling in her riotous curls “ and then you were just going to leave..” he tsked at her “ that just won't do Hermione”

All thought rushed from her brain as his lips crashed against her, the solid wall of muscle that was his chest pressing against her own. 

It was a controlling kiss, nothing about it was soft or romantic, merely hungry, demanding. She wouldn't have wanted it any other way. He returned his hungry kiss with one of her own. It had been so long since she had been kissed, touched,  _ desired.  _ And here she was, finally being touched by a man she never would have imagined having any interest in her. 

Tom pulled her head back by her curls roughly, forcing her to give him access to her mouth as he ravaged it. 

Just as quickly as the kiss had begun, it ended, those smoldering eyes gazing down at her with a hunger she didn't quite understand… 

She opened her mouth to say something--though what she wasn't sure-- but he moved back from her slightly. His fingers were still tangled in her curls, and he gave her a devilish smile.

“Let's make those fantasies a reality” he purred as he pulled her to the matt at the front of the room before pressing her down on her knees “ After all, we want to make you the best you you can be ,don’t we?”

Hermione nodded, a fire igniting in her blood. Something told her that she would be enrolling in more of these classes…  and somehow she knew she would enjoy every minute.


End file.
